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BY MIKE VORKUNOV
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
RUTGERS NOTEBOOK
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Tom Savage's first time away from home wasn't a great one. But with a win in his pocket and no turnovers, the quarterback was happy with his road debut.
"First away game, get a ‘W' out of it," Savage said. "When I was walking out there I kind of got chills a little bit because I'm not used to playing an away game. But I went out there and did what I had to do and got the ‘W'."
Savage finished the game with unspectacular stats, completing just 10 of his 20 passes for 164 yards while taking two sacks. His biggest miscue was in the third quarter when he had a wide open Shamar Graves on the far side but overthrew him for what would have been a 24-yard touchdown pass.
"I stepped up and right when it left my hands I knew it. I was just hoping he'd make a heck of a catch," Savage said.His coach was happy with the way the quarterback played in his first collegiate road environment, although a diluted one thanks to a light crowd and less than anticipated hostile conditions.
"I thought Tom played well," said coach Greg Schiano. "He moved in the pocket well. That's a very good defense, that's the 17th ranked defense in the country and they do some different things. I thought Tom had a good outing."
The game also acted as a learning experience for Savage, preparing him for what should be a tougher environment next week at Connecticut.
"Going to away games and hearing the crowd actually boo at you instead of cheer at you is unique," said Savage. "I gotta get used to it for next week."
Schiano admitted that Army's triple option offense took up plenty of his time this week, in preparation for Friday night. So naturally after the game he was just happy it was past him.
Army ran for 197 yards on 40 carries, and despite all the preparation Schiano said that it still left his team behind the eight-ball at times.
"The first drive is always difficult against an option team," said the head coach. "And then after the half is always difficult because they know the stuff better than we do, because that's for sure. So when someone runs this 365, they know the adjustments, it's punch-counterpunch and they have the technical advantage because they do it everyday."
Anthony Davis did not start the game because he was late to a team function leading up to Friday night. In his place was Desmond Stapleton, who played at right tackle in the first quarter before being injured. Kevin Haslam moved over to left tackle.
But the penalty was a one-time thing and the parties have already moved on.
"That thing with AD is done and finished," said Schiano.
Related:
Rutgers rolls over Army in sloppy rain-soaked affair, 27-10
What to take away from Rutgers' victory at Army
